Not Fade Away: The Drabble Series
by babies-stole-my-dingo
Summary: A series of drabbles that takes place during and after the final Angel episode 'Not Fade Away.' Will be updated periodically as the Muse and the challenges move me. The first six will be sort of in order; after that anything goes.
1. Not a Lie, After All

  
_Title:_ **Not a Lie, After All**  
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG for character death  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. _sob_  
_Written for:_ LJ Community Challenge100's #21 "Character Death" challenge.  
_Notes:_ Okay, I know...but you know, Sparrow and Knox had ulterior motives, and we don't _really_ know if they were telling the truth about Fred's soul, do we?

* * *

"Lie to me," he'd said. And she had. "Soon you'll be where I am, and we'll be together." But Fred's soul was annihilated when Illyria had taken over her body, so there was no chance of that. It was, nevertheless, a beautiful lie, and even while Wesley's Watcherly self rebelled at the falsehood, his emotional side embraced it.

And yet, as he faded out of this world and into the next...he thought he must be dreaming, or still dying, or _something_. Because nothing else would explain the vision standing before him, waiting to welcome him with open arms.


	2. Final Hope

  
_Title:_ **Final Hope**  
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ G  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. _sob_  
_Written for:_ LJ Community Challenge100's #9 "Afterlife" challenge  
_Notes:_ I think our Wes deserved some sort of reward. Don't you?

* * *

Lilah slogged away at the latest chore that the Senior Partners had assigned her. Angel's sudden rebellion had thrown a gigantic monkey wrench into their plans, and they were frantically playing catch-up. She grinned savagely to herself and yearned for his success. Now that her Wesley was dead, she had no hope left, and she found herself committing small sabotages. Nothing traceable to her, naturally, nothing huge...but she gained a sense of petty satisfaction from them. 

Her office door burst open, and Wes sprang in, carrying a shining sword. "The Powers gave me a last request," he said. "Coming?"


	3. Lost Friends

  
_Title:_ **Lost Friends**  
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. _sob_  
_Written for:_ LJ Community Challenge100's #16 Virginia Woolf challenge.  
_Notes:_ Inspired by this quotation: _Things have dropped from me. I have outlived certain desires; I have lost friends, some by death...others through sheer inability to cross the street._

* * *

Doyle. Cordy. Fred. Wes.

Four soldiers down. Four friends dead. That hurt.

Lorne.

Gone. He'd finally pushed him too far, and he wasn't coming back. That hurt worse.

It seemed silly that a demon would have delicate sensibilities. But Lorne had never liked the messier side of what they did, and asking him to kill Lindsey had apparently been the last straw. He'd seen the necessity, he'd heard Lindsey sing, and he'd done it...but he didn't enjoy it. Angel wished him well, wherever he was.

He wondered how many more friends he'd be grieving over after the battle was done.


	4. Champions

  
_Title:_ **Champions**  
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. _sob_  
_Written for:_ LJ Community Challenge100's #15 Les Miserables "Stars" challenge.  
_Notes:_ Inspired by this lyric: _And those who follow the path of the righteous / Shall have their reward._

* * *

Cordelia looked down from on high as Angel hatched his carefully prepared plot. After weeks of planning, it all came down to tonight. Watching with pride as Team Angel carried out their assignments, she giggled as Spike, of all people, rescued a baby. Gunn was a sight to behold as he went back to his roots and staked a dozen vamps. Illyria demolished a car by herself. Dear Wes--he died trying. And Angel, with Connor's help, killed Wolfram and Hart's liaison and brought the building down.

Tears came to her eyes during the final battle. "My heroes," she whispered.


	5. Last Battle

  
_Title:_ **Last Battle**  
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG for after-battle mayhem  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. _sob_  
_Written for:_ LJ Community Challenge100's #39 "Apocalypse" challenge.

* * *

They'd retreated into the Hyperion to regroup and take a breath. Angel's ace up his sleeve, the sanctorium spell, had been reinstated by the Three Furies. Gunn, unconscious, was out of the fight. Spike's arm was broken, but he'd been able to support Illyria into the building. Something had hit her head, and she muttered a confused mixture of Fred-babble and her own unique cadences. Bleeding and bruised, Angel was nevertheless relatively unscathed.

He exchanged a glance with Spike. "Get her out. This isn't your war."

"Bugger that, mate."

"Your choice. Shall we?"

Spike grinned ferociously. "Let's go to work."


	6. Final Reward

  
_Title:_ **Final Reward**  
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. _sob_  
_Written for:_ LJ Community Challenge100's #23 "In the beginning, there was..." the opening sentence to this drabble.  
_Notes:_ I left it vague on purpose. And it's kind of sad and angsty.

* * *

He took a weary step forward into the harsh sunlight. The battle was over, they were all dead except him, and he just didn't care anymore. Buffy had apparently forgotten all about him and was off cavorting with the Immortal; he doubted she'd come running even if he lowered himself to call. So, yeah...combusting? Seemed like a really good idea.

Only he wasn't on fire. Now that he didn't want it, the Shanshu was his. And as the irony of his situation hit him, all he could do was lean against the side of the building and laugh bitterly.


	7. Kicked Out of the Garden

  
_Title:_ **Kicked Out of the Garden**  
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG, I guess.  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. sob  
_Written for:_ LJ Community Open On Sunday's "Endings" challenge.  
_Notes:_ Takes place during Angel 5:22 "Not Fade Away." And for the record, I really really dislike Eve...but I felt bad for her these last few eps.

* * *

"He's not coming for you." Lindsey was dead, the Apocalypse was underway, and Eve had no hope left. She'd forsaken immortality to be with him, and now he was gone. Apparently Lindsey's faith that Angel would play him fair had been woefully misplaced. Fairy tale? More like a horror movie.

She sank to her knees in the office, too stunned and overwhelmed to cry. "Go where?" She'd begun her life as a creature of Wolfram and Hart; it was only fitting that she ended it the same way. As the building collapsed around her, she whispered one last word.

"Lindsey."


	8. Alien Sentiments

  
_Title:_ **Alien Sentiments**   
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG for character death  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. _sob_  
_Written for:_ LJ Community Angel100's "Not Fade Away" challenge.

* * *

"Would you like me to lie to you now?" 

"Yes. Thank you. Yes."

As Illyria comforted Wesley in the persona of the Burkle shell, unfamiliar emotions of bitterness and grief almost overwhelmed her. Grief, that he was going from her; bitterness that he still didn't want her, but preferred the other.

But she would do this for him. She would ease him off this plane, not allowing him to see how much it pained her that she couldn't help him more, couldn't save him. He would never know that the tears were hers.

And that was as it should be.


	9. Gunman

  
_Title:_ **Gunman**   
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG-13  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. _sob_  
_Written for:_ LJ Community Open On Sunday's David Bowie Song Title challenge.  
_Notes:_ Inspired by "Gunman."

* * *

"I crap better magic than this," Vail had said. 

Hanging in the air, a knife twisting in his gut, Wesley was able to pick a few coherent thoughts out of the maelstrom of his mind.

He was severely out-magicked.   
This frail-looking little demon had some real power at his command.  
He had badly overestimated his own power.  
His little pocketknife had been pitifully inadequate.  
Damn, this _hurt_. Like a mother, as Gunn would say.  
He'd failed. Again.  
I love you, Fred.  
Why, oh why, on this day of all days, hadn't he brought a gun instead of a knife?


	10. Baby

  
_Title:_ **Baby**   
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG-13 for non-graphic dismemberment  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. _sob_  
_Written for:_ LJ Community Open On Sunday's David Bowie Song Title challenge.  
_Notes:_ Inspired by the song title "Baby." Because, Spike, rescuing a baby? Is funny and touching all at the same time.

* * *

"Place the Holy Vessel back in the bassinet." 

Spike looked down at the fluffy little bundle. "Right." Well. They wouldn't want to hurt their Holy Vessel, would they? Somehow, both shielding the baby and using it as a shield, he fought off the Fell Brethren, dismembering them as per Angel's instructions.

The eyes of the woman who answered the door were red-rimmed, tired, and barren. But when she saw what the bloodstained man carried, they widened and came to life, and her expression changed to one of wild hope. He brushed off her babbled, tearful thanks. "Just doin' my job."


	11. End of Days

  
_Title:_ **End of Days**   
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. sob  
_Notes:_ Just watched BtVS 7:21 "End of Days," and thought the dialogue from there was pretty appropriate for a "what happened after 'Not Fade Away'?" drabble.

* * *

Buffy dropped lightly to the ground beside Angel in the rain-soaked alley behind the Hyperion. "Heard maybe you needed a hand," she said. Angel shook his head, smiling at her a little. "Ah, one of those things you have to finish yourself."

"Really kinda is."

She backed away, stood against the wall, and crossed her arms. Staring at the advancing army, she smirked at them. "You demons are _so_ gonna lose."

After the battle ended, she walked up and embraced her two battered, bloodstained heroes, together. "My guys," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "My beautiful, beautiful guys."


	12. A Dark And Stormy Night

  
_Title:_ **A Dark And Stormy Night**   
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. _sob_  
_Written for:_ LJ Community Challenge100's "It was a dark and stormy night" challenge  
_Notes:_ Takes place the night of the series finale. Spike's POV.

* * *

It was a dark and stormy night. Spike grimaced. Even Edward Bulwer-Lytton hadn't envisioned this sort of night. Rain sluiced down from the angry sky like the tears of a petulant god denied a bedtime story--_Stop that_, he told himself. Bad enough that his poetry was horrid enough to choke a Fyarl Demon; now his prose was headed the same direction. Tonight he needed to keep his mind on his business. It felt as if the very fires of Hell itself had been unleashed to scorch the Earth...

Bloody apocalypses, always bringing out the awful writer in him.


	13. Goodnight, Folks

Many thanks to my faithful reviewers! You guys rock!  
  
_Title:_ **Goodnight, Folks**   
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. _sob_  
_Written for:_ LJ Community TV100's "Last Goodbye" challenge.  
_Notes:_ Set during Angel 5:22 "Not Fade Away." Lorne ruminates.

* * *

I've heard him sing. I didn't know I was going to be the one to end Lindsey's path--the Powers mercifully kept that knowledge to themselves--but I knew it would end badly.

Life's all about choices, right? The choices you make determine the life you lead. Where does destiny end and free will begin? Does the fact that Someone up there knows what you're going to do, before you do it, preclude free will? _You're_ still choosing, right? So. I don't know. Anyway. I've done this last job, and now I'm leaving.

Goodbye, Angel-cakes. Goodbye, LA. Goodnight, folks.


	14. Final Goodbye

  
_Title:_ **Final Goodbye**   
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG  
_Words:_ 275  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. _sob_  
_Written for:_ LJ Community TV100's "Final Goodbye" challenge. However, the length got away from me, and after I decided to let the Muse speak instead of cramming her into a box, this is what came out.  
_Notes:_ Takes place right before Wes leaves his apartment to face Cyvus Vail in Angel 5:22 "Not Fade Away."

* * *

He should have been startled by the apparition in his apartment, but he found it strangely comforting instead. "Hello, Wesley," she said. "You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?"

"No, Lilah. I suppose cutting your head off, under the circumstances, wasn't really very effective, was it?"

A little smile tugged at her lips. "Really kinda wasn't."

"What are you doing here? If it's about Fred..."

Lilah put two fingers to Wesley's lips. "Shh, lover. I'm not here to bust your chops over the Texas Twig. I'm a realist; I always knew I was a poor second."

"She's gone now. Is that why you came? To get me back?"

"To say goodbye, actually. You're going someplace I'll never be allowed to enter. She wins."

"How does she win?" he said hopelessly. "Her soul was destroyed in the fires of Illyria's resurrection."

"You people always were gullible," she answered, shaking her head. "This is the team that thwarted us all these years? I'm completely embarrassed."

Hope dawned for him. "Of course," he breathed. Of course Sparrow had lied to them. If they thought Fred's soul was beyond their power to retrieve, they wouldn't try. Then: "You shouldn't be here. You'll get in trouble. The Senior Partners--"

She smirked and shrugged. "What are they going to do? Send me to Hell? For what it's worth, I'm glad we lost. Well. Wish I could say 'See you around,' but that's not happening. So I'll just say 'Goodbye' and leave you with this." She kissed him gently on the lips, mouthed "I loved you," and disappeared.

"Goodbye, Lilah," he whispered. "I loved you too."


	15. Repaying a Debt

  
_Title:_ **Repaying a Debt**   
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ G  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Not mine, they're Whedon's. sob  
_Written for:_ LJ Community Wordoftheday100's "Notes" challenge.  
_Notes:_ He was only in three episodes, but I miss him anyway. And you just _know_ he was keeping track of the AI team....

* * *

He stared at his notes, not really seeing them, the droning voice of...whoever it was...fading into the background. Abruptly, he stood up, said, "Meeting adjourned," and left.

"Mr. Nabbit? Is everything okay?" His assistant was like a determined terrier nipping at his heels.

"Go home, Michael. Take the rest of the day off."

"Sir?"

David looked out the window at the darkening sky. "I can't fight, but I know people who can. I owe those guys," he muttered. "And it's going down tonight." He left his puzzled assistant standing there and went into his office to make some calls.


	16. Poetry Slam

  
_Title:_ **Poetry Slam**  
_Author:_ babies stole my dingo (agilebrit)  
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Joss is the genius behind these characters; I am but a lowly follower.  
_Written for:_ LJ Community Wordoftheday100's "Mellifluous" challenge.  
_Notes:_ Spoilers for the Angel finale; Spike's POV.

* * *

It was a rough place, all right. Well, bloody hell. It might be his last night on earth. If anyone booed him, he'd just eat them. He took his seat on the stool up on stage, grabbing the microphone and leaning into it.

Every eye was riveted on him. His mellifluous voice roughened by a few shots of liquid courage, he belted out the poem and waited for reaction. And as the bar erupted into applause and enthusiastic shouts, he felt a curious vindication. He was still a good man, perhaps...but maybe he wasn't a bad poet after all.


	17. Paths

  
_Title:_ **Paths**  
_Author:_ babies stole my dingo (agilebrit)  
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG  
_Words:_ 100  
_Disclaimer:_ Joss is the genius behind these characters; I am but a lowly follower.  
_Written for:_ LJ Community TV100's "Virtue and Vice" challenge.  
_Notes:_ Set during the series finale, "Not Fade Away." Lorne's POV.

* * *

Life used to be simple. I'd set people on their paths. That was my job, and I was damn good at it. But working at Hell, Incorporated, will turn your moral compass right on its head. And now? Tonight, I'm going to betray and kill a man. He's not a nice man, but, then, few really are. He's going to trust me, and I'm going to put a pair of bullets in his chest.

I sip another Sea Breeze and lean into the microphone, ready to belt out another old standard. So. Who's going to set me on my path?


	18. Unfamiliar Emotion

  
_Title:_ **Unfamiliar Emotion**  
_Author:_ babies stole my dingo (agilebrit)  
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG  
_Length:_ Drabble (100 words)  
_Disclaimer:_ Joss is the genius behind these characters; I am but a lowly follower. I make no money from any of this, so please don't sue me.  
_Written for:_ The "use the first line from another author's fic for a drabble" challenge.  
_Notes:_ The first line belongs to Speaker-to-Customers.

* * *

The tears are hot on my cheeks. I kneel down next to Wesley and place the hand I just used to destroy Vail on his face. The grief I feel is such a _human_ emotion. Alien to me, although the Burkle shell felt it often enough, according to its--her--memories. I should respect her. Wesley would wish it.

I must go to the meeting place. I roughly wipe the moisture from my eyes. It won't do to show weakness to a human and a pair of half-breeds. My voice is husky as I whisper, "Goodbye, Wesley," and walk away.


	19. Beautiful Illusion

  
_Title:_ **Beautiful Illusion**  
_Author:_ babies stole my dingo (agilebrit)  
_Fandom:_ Angel  
_Rating:_ PG  
_Length:_ Drabble (100 words)  
_Disclaimer:_ Joss is the genius behind these characters; I am but a lowly follower. I make no money from any of this, so please don't sue me.  
_Written for:_ LJ Community TV100's "imposter, swiftness, irrational" challenge.  
_Notes:_ Wesley's POV during Angel 5:22 "Not Fade Away." Two lines of dialogue cribbed directly from that ep, written by Joss Whedon and Jeffrey Bell.

* * *

"Would you like me to lie to you now?"

I know she's an imposter. Fred's gone someplace that I can't follow. It would be irrational for me to want Illyria to be Fred.

I don't care. For once in my bloody life, I'm going to get something I long for. If I had any breath left, it would be taken away at the swiftness of my capitulation. But I'm dying, so I want the very last thing I see in this world to be Fred's dear face, and not the creature who stole her from me.

"Yes. Thank you. Yes."


End file.
